This final 'grace' period alone, certainly took several minutes - but the car was not actually parked for over 4 hours at all. Given the popular and busy time of year for beach traffic and the badly-surfaced nature of this car park and the machines playing up with pound coins, an unproven (approximate, given the camera clocks not being synchronised nor exact to the second) eleven minutes all told either side of paid-for time is very clearly perfectly reasonable.

This captured photo shows how dark the car park was at the time of departure:

Photo of car departing car park in darkness

So, the period before paying is defined by the BPA as an 'observation period', to drive in, park, read signs, decide whether to stay or leave and then to make payment at a machine.

This is separate from the end of parking 'grace period' and it is disingenuous of ParkingEye to pretend that a ten minute 'observation period' on arrival, then an 11 'grace period' somehow exceeds the mandatory minimum 'grace period' at the end of any parking event, given that the BPA formally agreed to amend in 13.4 of their CoP, in 2015, to at least ELEVEN minutes merely for the process of leaving a car park after expiry of paid-for time.

And that time depends on circumstances, which in this case involved a family group including grandparents and a baby in a pram, where it is clear that the time taken to put up the pram at the start, and at the end, to collapse the pram and load it into the boot, then safely strap the baby back in the car, would take more time than a single driver would on their own.

Add to that, the fact that this car park is pebbly, can't be driven out of at any speed, and also involves weaving around pedestrians, and a road at the end that you cannot just drive out onto without stopping, it is surprising that the car actually did leave within the 11 minutes allowed by the BPA's agreed amendment from 2015. No contravention occurred, clearly a fair 'observation period' then a fair 'Grace period' was not allowed and the PCN was not properly given.